On November 15, the cavalry army of the 10,000 Rao steppe lined up in a mighty marching column and advanced to the east.

Marshal Ivan Mikhainovich Ivanovsky personally served as the commander of this unit,

After a long journey, the cavalry corps successfully arrived at Fort Midknight, the capital of the Valstad Empire, and camped on the flat ground on the outskirts of the city.

This morning, a small light cavalryman at the edge of the camp was sneakily looking around, wearing a long scarf covering his face, which did not escape the sharp gaze of Yi Wanshuai.

"You! Come here! Yes, that's right, it's you, tall! With that, Marshal Iwan's right hand pressed on the hilt of his saber, and with his left hand unbuttoned the holster, ready to draw his flintlock pistol, he thought he had spotted a spy.

The voice of the tall light cavalry was particularly high-pitched; "Your Excellency...... You call me? ”

The military attache attendant beside the marshal rudely pulled open the tall scarf, revealing a delicate and fair face.

"Huh?" Marshal Yi Wanwan instantly let down his guard, he took off the opponent's military hat, and the light cavalry in front of him turned out to be a girl with blond hair and blue eyes.

"Martha?" The marshal exclaimed; "Why did you come along?"

The girl was so ashamed that her face was red, and she lowered her head and said, "Lord Ivan...... I want to join the army, but you won't agree...... So I ......"

Yi Wanshuai interrupted the other party's words: "Martha...... Where did you get your uniforms and horses? ”

"Oh...... My brother Sasha got it for me...... He found a hussar uniform, but it was still too big to wear, please, Lord Ivan, blame me, don't blame my brother. ”

"Humph! This bastard! Never disobedient! Yi Wanshuai scolded, he spat on the ground, then his face was slightly gentle, and he pressed the girl's shoulder:

"My dear Martha, I love you brothers and sisters as my own children, so I don't want you to set foot on the battlefield too soon, I hope you don't resent me, it's all for your good."

"I know, Father......" The girl smiled sweetly and hugged her.

The title of "Father......" made Ivan's heart feel warm, and he immediately felt that the love of the past ten years had not been in vain, he hugged his goddaughter tightly, kissed her earlobe, and then gently put her back on the ground.

"Martha, I will allow you to stay in the cavalry army for the time being, but pay attention to safety, you are not allowed to ride a war horse, and later I will ask the quartermaster to find you a good-tempered mare in case you fall, promise me to stay by my side, okay?"

"Hmm!" The girl nodded vigorously.

"Later, I will take you sisters and brothers into the Jinhu Palace in the imperial capital to visit, and when the time comes, you must maintain the courtesy, don't embarrass me!" You will have the opportunity to meet our great Emperor, and by the way, your big sister Natasha is serving in the Guard, so get along with her! ”

In the afternoon, the streets of the imperial capital were emptied of martial law, and a huge military parade began.

At the third-floor window of a mansion down the street, Crown Prince Constance Midknight watched the parade in a gown, and the beautiful lady standing next to the crown prince was his twin sister, Princess Rosemary Midknight.

She was in a good mood and waved out the window; "Look! It's Victor! He's so handsome in a military uniform! Yes! My Prince Charming! ”

Outside the window, a very tall young officer was walking along with his troops, and his eyes looked through the fluttering petals and colored flags, and finally saw the princess in the window jumping and waving at him frantically.

Because of his joining the front-line combat unit, the two of them had a quarrel, but they had already reconciled by this time.

In another open window next to it, Field Marshal Dali Einfurt and his two old men, General Poigny and General Gavin, stood together to observe the parade.

General Poigny asked, "What's going on with this force?" Flags and numbers have never been seen before. ”

Dali replied: "Oh, this is the newly established steppe cavalry army of Marshal Yi Wan, a force composed entirely of grassland minorities, look at the riding skills of these stick boys, it is worthy of growing up on horses, it is really amazing!" ”

General Gavin praised: "Yes, I feel that these people can ride very steadily without a saddle!" Look at those prairie horses! The fur was as smooth and shiny as silk, and the muscles of the legs were clearly visible, and it was certainly unstoppable to launch a sprint, and I was glad that these steppe cavalry were our compatriots, and I felt sorry for their enemies in advance. ”

"Huh? It's strange, why didn't the phalanx of sappers come to participate in this parade? Poigny asked.

Dalí pointed towards the towering city walls: "The sappers are busy, and now the fortifications of the whole country need to be reinforced. ”

"Really! Is it necessary? The enemy is still on the other side of the sea, and we are starting to shrink our defenses? ”

At this time, a firm and calm female voice came from behind: "Of course it is necessary. ”

The three of them turned their heads and gave a military salute: "Your Majesty the Emperor, you are here." ”

Empress Sarantos Midknight still wears the familiar red and black marshal's military dress, but now she wears more than a dozen shiny medals on her chest, and the epaulettes that are not usually decorated also wear the rank of generalissimo of the Scales.

"I just heard someone talking about defensive strategy."

General Poigni stepped forward: "I asked, Your Majesty, I wonder why you have to make a city defense deployment so early, don't you have confidence in this war?" ”

This was undoubtedly an aggressive, bold question, and the ministers behind the emperor couldn't help but swallow in fright.

Dalí Einfurt was in a relaxed mood, he knew that Poigny was a straight man who never hid anything in his head, and the Empress of the Empire had always admired such courtiers who dared to ask questions.

"Good question, General, it's really commendable to dare to do this in front of me." The Emperor smiled and nodded, and the silver-gray one-eyed stared straight at General Poigny, and she said:

"This war is unlike any other before, and it is even more fierce and terrifying than the war ten years ago, because our battlefield is not in overseas colonies, nor on the seas, nor in neighboring countries, but we are fighting on our own territory.

The flames of war will burn in our fields, our cities will be bombarded with artillery, the crops will be trampled by the hooves of horses, the nobles, the farmers, the priests, the men, the women, the children...... No one is safe.

Now you come and tell me, General, the enemy is likely to emerge from anywhere, is it necessary to strengthen the fortifications everywhere? ”

General Poigny slammed his heel hard, stood up solemnly and said: "It is necessary, Your Majesty, I understand now, this is a war that we cannot afford to lose, and we must win!" ”

"Well answered, General, your Emperor will fight with you," she said, holding up a piece of paper with her remaining right arm, showing it to the people around her, and then said in a loud voice:

"Half a minute ago, I received a report from the Coast Guard that, unfortunately, our navy had not succeeded in intercepting the first landing force of the enemy, because the enemy did not want to land on our mainland at all.

The more unfortunate news is that the Kingdom of Solan has apparently signed a secret treaty with our neighbor Sylvinian Empire, and they have landed in the port of Sylvinia, the current information is not clear, but the total number of the first landing force must have exceeded 300,000.

With our neighbors as accomplices, it means that the supply of the enemy army will not be a problem, and now the situation is tense, and the surrounding countries are all on the move, they are all watching the course of the war, and if one side suffers a major setback, these guys will pounce on them like scavenging vultures.

Therefore, every movement of our army must strive to be steady, and we must not send our troops to fight outside the borders, because we must stabilize the supply lines, and we cannot afford any additional political risks, and we must not increase the number of enemies!

This war will be a patriotic war to defend the territory.

Brothers and sisters of Valstad, it's time to take up arms and fight bloodily, and I hope that the god of fate will favor us and wait, long live the Empire! Long live the people of Valsta! ”

The emotions of the people in the hall of the mansion were ignited, the soldiers drew their swords, and the others raised their wine glasses and shouted back: "Long live the emperor!" ”

When the parade was over, the troops immediately left for the eastern border.

4 later, on November 23, on the border between the Valstad Empire and the Sylvinian Empire,

The artillery of the Solan Kingdom opened fire on the neighbors, and the battle officially began.